Friday, August 17, 2012

When this flower pin and clip earring set were made, flower power was in full swing.

It was 1968, just before the Summer of Love, and no matter where you were in the US, if you met a hippie, they would give you a flower and say " Peace"! It was a very sad time in this country too, as we were in a war no one understood, and our sons and brothers were coming home in body bags to no end. We marched and protested and raged against the machine to stop Johnson and Nixon's war agenda. We didn't want war. We wanted Peace, Love, and Flowers.

If all the Hippies would just come back today and put an end to the war we are in now. So, with great humility I say, wear this flower pin and earrings, and say "Peace" to everyone you meet. This set is designer signed by Sarah Coventry and it was only made in 1968. The name of the design is called Flower Flattery. The large flowers are made of polished gold plated metal with thick glossy white enamel.

Large in size, the pin is 3 3/4" long x 2 1/4" wide or 95 mm x 57 mm. The clip earrings are 1 1/4" or 32 mm wide. The entire set is in pristine clean like new condition with no imperfections or flaws and has never been worn. The enamel is perfect with no chips, scratches, or scuffs. There is no gold wear. The earrings clips are like new and the back of the pin has the original fine working safety clasp.

Made in the 1950s, this vintage Citrine "bubble crystal" bracelet and clip earring parure is a rare find! The set is not designer signed but the findings and composition point to Robert Demetrio or Eugene. This set is highly luminescent as the Topaz, Golden Yellow, and Clear round crystal beads are alive and glowing pools of jewels. This crystal is not Pools of Light crystal, but the interior glowing quality is the same.

The stacked cluster design is also extremely unique and adds endless color depth and light refraction. In addition, all of the crystals that appear to be round are round or smooth on the tops, but faceted on the sides. Look at the back of the bracelet and you can see the unique network of gold gilt filigree and capped settings, and the unique gold filigree clasp. The five settings are also spaced by a double wired strand of Austrian Citrine faceted crystals. The clip earrings have dangling crystals. All of the beads were hand wired in place.

When clasped, the bracelet is 7 1/4" or cm long. Each crystal glass cluster on the bracelet is about 1" or 27 mm wide. The clip earrings are not heavy to wear and are medium in size at 1 1/2" long x 1 1/16" wide or 40 mm x 27 mm.

The entire set is in superb pristine clean collector condition with no imperfections or flaws. All of the crystals are perfect with no facet wear and no chips or cracks. The set is impeccably clean and bright. The gold is bright and clean as well with only a few very tiny scratches on the back of the bracelet, on the dome caps. The bracelet clasp is in perfect working order and the clips on the earrings are like new as well. Comes gift wrapped and shipped in luxury presentation jewelry gift boxes.

* If the braclet is not long enough for you, it is possible to make it longer with the addition of some gold metal jump rings before the insert clasp. I can customize the length for you if you desire. Please check the option box below, and in the text field, write in your desired length.

Made in the 1950 - 1960 era, this quality gemstone scarab bracelet is signed 1/20 12kt GF.

During the 1950s and 1960s, scarab gemstone bracelets were very popular and collectible, but not all were made the same. These scarabs gems are large with pronounced domed tops and the metal is not simply gold plated.

The 6 large scarabs are each about 5/8" or 15 mm long. This bracelet is also very affordable as a scarab gemstone bracelet in 14kt gold currently sells for between $850 and $1200.

When clasped the bracelet is 7 1/4" or 18.4 cm long. The bracelet is complete with a gold filled safety chain and clasp. The entire bracelet is in pristine clean condition with no imperfections or flaws. The gemstones are all perfect with the scratches, scuffs, dings, or wear. The gold is clean and brightly polished. The bracelet is signed 1/20th 12kt GF on the clasp.

Back in the late 1970s or early 1980s when this necklace was made, and earlier designs as well, you could go into a department store a buy a twisted gold rope necklace that was fine quality gold plating.

Vintage gold plated necklaces will last many, many decades. New cheaply made gold plated necklaces show gold wear the first week you wear them! This twisted fat rope design is thickly gold plated in two shades (each strand) of light yellow gold and glistening rose gold. Because the plating is thick, the necklace looks like new but it is at least 27 years old.

The necklace is 31 1/2" or 80 cm long and is finished with a gold plated spring clasp. The twisted gold mesh is 1/4" or 8-9 mm wide. The necklace is not signed and was probably not imported and was made in the US.

In pristine clean like new condition, the rope has no imperfections or flaws. There is no gold wear and no damage to the mesh anywhere.

Comes gift wrapped and shipped in a new luxury presentation necklace box.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

As a vintage cufflink collector, I have seen thousands of pair of vintage cufflinks and 90% of the designs I pass by. They have to be certain styles and in superb condition to be of interest to me. Here on my website you will find one of the most unique and largest collections of vintage cufflinks for sale online. (If you are not in the mens vintage cufflink category, click on Mens Jewelry to your left).

Made in the 1950s, this vintage cufflink and tie clasp set is designer signed Swank. One of the great aspects about Swank jewelry in the 1950s is the fact that they were one of the few cufflink designers that looked the world over and imported unique top quality glass for their jewelry. Some of the countries they imported glass from were France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Italy.

This unique set incorporates 1950s Venetian glass called caned or ribbon glass. The elongated domed oval cabs look red and white under normal conditions but when held up to light, the glass is semi-translucent and is glowing cranberry pearlescent. This type of Venetian glass was not available in any abundance as was used for a limited jewelry production run by Swank during just one year in the early to mid 1950s. The cabs "float " in polished gold plated oval frames.

Medium in size, the cufflinks are 1 1/16" long x 3/4" wide or 27 mm x 18 mm. The matching tie clasp is 2 5/8" or 66 mm long. This set has obviously never been worn as all three pieces are in pristine clean like new condition with no imperfections or flaws. The glass cabs are perfect with no scratches, chips, or cracks. The gold like new as well; polished and bright with no signs of wear. Just the tie clasp is signed with the S logo for Swank.

Comes gift wrapped and shipped in a new luxury presentation cufflink box as pictured.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Made in the 1950s, these designer signed Swank vintage cufflinks are a masculine Retro Atomic design. They are a macho manly style, designed for every day casual wear.

The cufflinks are made of silver rhdoium metal and the faces are slighty domed with satin etched gold and black enamel inlay. This orbital style was a popular Atomic age them in the mid to late 1950s as if you remember, there was alot of " crazy talk" about going to the moon.

Medium in size, the cufflinks are 7/8" or 22 mm wide. The pair is in pristine clean like new condition with no imperfections or flaws. There are no scratches, chips, or metal wear. Both cufflinks are signed Swank.

Comes gift wrapped and shipped in a new luxury presentation cufflink box as pictured.

These three dolphin buddies is a unique dolphin lovers pin. The dolphins are stacked in a domino effect and in faceted cut metal that looks like Marcasite, or Marcasite faceted metal as it is called. There are scattered placements of real Marcasites, and large diamond shaped Marcasites for the eyes.

The pin is in made of silver rhodium metal as was made in the 1980s. Medium petite in size, the pin is 1 7/8" tall x 1 1/16" wide or 48 mm x 27 mm. The entire pin is in pristine clean like new condition with no imperfections or flaws and has never been worn. The back has the original fine working safety clasp and the pin is not signed.

This vintage locket can only be purchased by a jewelry collector who loves birds like me! Not just any birds, but Orioles! When was the last time you saw a locket with Orioles?!

I grew up in Maryland where everyone was always on the watch for the state bird, the Oriole. In the 1960s, I went to ball games as a kid in Baltimore and everyone was dressed in Oriole jackets, shirts, and hats. Maryland is crazy about their Orioles! My mom, who still lives in MD, comes to visit me here in the NC mountains and one day she was jumping up and down screaming, " There is an Oriole at your bird feeder!" She said she rarely ever sees Orioles in MD anymore and cant believe she has to come the NC mountains to find them!

If you love birds and haven't seen the new movie The Big Year, see it : starring Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson. In one scene in the movie, Jack Black's character says the Oriole has the most beautiful song of any bird in the whole world.

This large locket was made in the 1960s. The face is a top quality full color print that looks like a real painting. The locket is made of silver rhodium metal with fancy embossed scrolls and other details on the sides and back.

The locket is large at 1 7/8" long x 1 1/2" wide or 47 mm x 38 mm wide. The original silver metal chain is 30" or 76 cm long. The locket has places for 2 photos that can be up to 1 3/8" tall x 1" wide or 35 mm x 26 mm.

The locket and the chain are not signed. The locket is in excellent clean like new condition with no imperfections or flaws. The Oriole face is perfect with no scratches or chips. There is no silver metal wear. On the on the inside and the back of the locket, there are a couple of microscopic light scratches, hardly worth noting. Inside there is also some light, residual glue from an old photo.

Made in the 1960-1970 era, this authentic vintage biker necklace is a very unusual find. This necklace is a design that has come back in style but the quality of the metal is much different. This necklace is made of solid chrome and it is HEAVY. It weighs a hefty 107 grams.

I have taken before and after photos of this necklace. As it is vintage, it was not perfectly polished and the before photo show what it looks like unpolished. The necklace is in perfect condition with no scratches, dings or metal wear. It should be very lightly polished with MAAS metal cleaner once in awhile.

LOVE is a sculpture by American artist Robert Indiana. It consists of the letters LO (with the O canted sideways) over the letters VE. The image was originally designed as a Christmas card for the Museum of Modern Art in 1964.

The LOVE design has been reproduced by many artists in a variety of formats. Made in the 1960s, this vintage LOVE ring is a different version, a vertical version, of the original. The ring is made of antiqued gold plated brass metal and the letters have deep linear etching.

The ring band is nicely made as well with floral embossing and is adjustable from a size 6 1/2 to a size 7 1/2. The face of the ring is rather large at 1" or 25 mm long x 3/4" or 19 mm wide. The ring is in pristine clean like new condition with no imperfections or flaws and has never been worn. There are no scratches, dings, or metal wear and the ring band is like new as well.

If you are a man, you might not wear cufflinks much these
days and you might think you have no use for collecting antique and vintage
cufflinks. From an investment standpoint, this is a poor decision. There are
still a lot of men who wear cufflinks, and current fashion trends indicate they
are back in style.The people who buy
antique and vintage cufflinks the most are collectors, who are hoarding for
good reason.

In the past 10 years, antique and vintage cufflinks, preferably
designer signed sets, have skyrocketed in price and value. The values will
continue to rise as collectors hoard cufflinks and supply decreases. The supply
of antique and vintage cufflinks is constantly decreasing as cufflinks that
were made by certain US and foreign jewelry designers have long been out of
business, and collectors hoard.

Ten years ago, you could have bought any set of antique or
vintage designer cufflinks in the world for $10 or less. No one knew anything
about designer cufflinks or the value of antique gold or gemstone cufflinks.

Five years ago, you could have bought them for $20 or less.

Today, the same cufflinks sets are now selling for $50 to $100
or more. In another 10 years, IF and only IF, you can find what is considered desirable
collectible vintage cufflinks at all, expect to pay several hundreds of dollars
to get them.

It has been my experience that some people, both men and
women, have trouble understanding this concept and it is not hard to understand
if you first consider that in the jewelry hay- days in the US of the 1940s and
1950s, there were over 10,000 jewelry firms producing jewelry. Today, they are
all defunct and long gone. The ones you think might still be in business have
farmed out their production to foreign countries and poor quality now renders
their jewelry items rather worthless.

Think of it like cars that were made in the 1950s, 1960s,
1970s. Had you known in the 1960s that a Dodge Charger in mint condition would
now be worth $ 100,000, you would have sold everything you owned and bought 50
of them.

The price and value of antique and vintage cufflinks will
not go down, regardless of the state of the economy. Presently, there are no
sellers anywhere online that offer large collections of antique of vintage
cufflinks for sale. I, at www.greatvintagejewelry.com
, have one of the largest vintage cufflink collections available online, and my
inventory is constantly in flux. Most cufflink websites online are for new cufflinks.

To give you a better idea of just how many people are
researching or learning about collecting cufflinks, there is only one half way
decent book in print about antique and vintage cufflinks and by my standards,
of what a vintage jewelry book should be, the book is very poor. No one alive
today has great knowledge of the history of cufflink designers that used to
exist in the US. Getting information on the designers would require thousands
of hours of vintage jewelry research.

Knowing what cufflinks to collect is the most important
aspect about collecting antique and vintage cufflinks. Condition is paramount,
and all collectors should keep their cufflinks in mint condition. Condition
cannot be assessed with the naked eye. Inspection under a loupe or magnifying glass
is imperative. If a design is very old or very rare, only then would mint condition
be a factor that should be waived.

Collect what you consider very unique and collect figural
cufflinks, gold or gold filled cufflinks, antique and vintage sterling silver
cufflinks, agate or gemstone cufflinks, and cufflinks with unusual features
like art glass, carved wood or other carved materials, Retro Modern machine
etched designs, and everything that is vintage souvenir or sports related.

Swank was one of the largest and most well known cufflink
designers, predominately in the 1940s through the 1960s. Many of their designs are
NOT collectible, but many are highly collectible, especially unique Retro
Modern cufflinks or Modernist designs from the Space Age or Atomic Era, and
figural cufflinks such as beer mugs, birds, pistols, and cars.

Unsigned souvenir cufflinks from cities, towns, and places are
also not being produced anymore and vintage designs are in very high demand. Anything
that points to the culture of the 1960s and 1970s is also on the top of the
list such as peace symbols, politics, or Viet Nam or military related.

Why am I giving this information away ? As a collector, you
would think I would want to keep this knowledge to myself. I don't just collect
antique and vintage cufflinks but I also collect a very wide range of other
vintage designer jewelry and there are not enough years in my life to continue
collecting at the pace I have been for the past 30-40 years. Use this
information now and one day you will look back and say, “ There was once a very
wise woman by the name of Veronica who told me to invest in antique and vintage
cufflinks and now, I have a collection worth a small fortune.”

I could tell you a lot of stories about how I got here doing
this but, to make lots of long stories short, I once sailed on oil tankers in
the US Merchant Marines in the 1970s. (I was the only woman out there and there
were no women in the military.) After trading 2 pairs of Levis and some Playboy
magazines in a hashish den in Burma for a hand full of uncut Burmese rubies, I
went to NYC and sold them to a jeweler for $ 7,000. This old Jewish jeweler
took one look at me and said, “ Keep doing whatever it is you are doing and you
will be a very successful lady!” That was it. I was hooked. Us “guys” in the
merchant marines made tons more money trading goods than we ever made in wages. Of
course, those were the days before there were any real US Customs around and as
long as you weren’t smuggling drugs, they turned a blind eye to everything else,
if and when they ever came aboard ship.

Trust me when I tell you : Buy 100 pairs or more of unique antique
and vintage cufflinks in great condition and sit on them for 5 to 10 years or
more. You wont be sorry! Buy at around $50 to $100 for vintage cufflinks (more
for antique cufflinks) and your investment will be in the $5,000 to $10,000
range. Expect the values to at least triple in 5 to 7 years. That will put your
cufflink collection value in the range of $15,000 to $30,000. More realistically
however, the values will probably increase 4 or 5 fold closer to 10 years down
the road, or a value of about $25,000 to $50,000.

But, I could be wrong. You
might buy just one pair of cufflinks and in ten years, just that one pair is
worth 20 fold or more of what you paid for them. It all depends on what you learn to buy
and not to buy.

Remember : Two pairs of Levis in the 1970s were worth $ 7,000 of
Burmese Rubies.

Woah! Ive been a lot of things in my life and Ive been all over the world. I worked on oil tankers in the USMM and Navy Reserve and after sailing for 5 years, I became a marine scientist and professional scuba diver for 20 years in the FL Keys.

I now live in a remote mountain location in NC. Im a building contractor, interior designer, photographer, and author, and spend all my spare time on my site www.GreatVintageJewelry.com which I've operated since 1990.

I have been an antique and designer vintage jewelry collector and researcher for over 30 years. I've ship to many loyal customers world wide. My website always has about 2000 unique jewelry items for sale for collectors and gift givers.